UPDATING LIVE: Civilians in Israel and Palestine ‘cannot be abandoned’, says top UN official on sexual violence in conflict

PNP DeskMarch 11, 2024September 19, 2024017 mins

4:02 PM Mozambique: Intervention urgently needed Domingos Estêvão Fernandes, Deputy Permanent Representative of Mozambique to the UN, said that the relentless violence between Israeli settlers and Palestinians in the Occupied West Bank, coupled with the bombardment in the Gaza Strip demanded the “immediate intervention” of the Security Council. “All parties must fully respect international humanitarian…

UN chief urges ‘genuine, credible’ political solution in Syria, as conflict approaches thirteenth anniversary

PNP DeskMarch 9, 2024September 19, 202403 mins

March marks the thirteenth anniversary of the conflict in Syria, with systematic atrocities and untold suffering of civilians. According to UN estimates, 16.7 million people, equivalent to 70 per cent of the total population, will require humanitarian assistance in 2024. Roughly half the pre-war population remains displaced inside or outside Syria. Compounding the crisis, a…

Wheat from war-torn Ukraine to feed families affected by conflict in Sudan

PNP DeskFebruary 28, 2024September 18, 202404 mins

The in-kind donation – part of the ‘Grain from Ukraine’ humanitarian initiative launched by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy – arrived in the coastal city of Port Sudan and was loaded onto WFP trucks for emergency food distributions. The UN agency is working around the clock to urgently deliver critical food assistance to families who are struggling…

Climate and conflict collide on the high seas: UN warns of soaring costs and delays

PNP DeskFebruary 22, 2024September 18, 202405 mins

In a new study, the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) estimated that over the past two months, the volume of trade through the Suez Canal has fallen by a whopping 42 per cent. “With major players in the shipping industry temporarily suspending Suez transits, weekly container ship transits have fallen by 67 per…

UN representative on sexual violence in conflict to visit Israel and West Bank

PNP DeskJanuary 25, 2024September 18, 202403 mins

Pramila Patten, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, will also visit the occupied West Bank, where she will meet with the Palestinian Authority, civil society organizations, recently released detainees and other relevant actors. The visit is set to start on Monday and will conclude in early February. Giving voice to…

Ukraine war: Political Affairs chief warns against rhetoric fuelling ‘already dangerous conflict’

PNP DeskJanuary 25, 2024September 18, 202404 mins

“We understand both Russia and Ukraine are conducting separate investigations into the incident, and Kyiv has called for an international probe,” Rosemary DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, told ambassadors in the Security Council. Russia said that there were no survivors from Monday’s crash in the Belgorod region close to the Ukrainian border and…

Two mothers killed each hour in Gaza conflict: UN Women

PNP DeskJanuary 19, 2024September 18, 202404 mins

The report examines the gendered impact of the conflict, which has left more than 23,000 Palestinians dead, according to Gazan health authorities, about 16,000 of whom are women or children. Failure and trauma “We have seen evidenced once more that women and children are the first victims of conflict and that our duty to seek…

Gaza ceasefire ‘more urgent than ever’ as conflict approaches 100-day mark

PNP DeskJanuary 12, 2024September 18, 2024014 mins

Speaking ahead of Sunday’s grim milestone, Spokesperson Liz Throssell reiterated the need for OHCHR staff to have access to Israel and all parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territory to investigate human rights violations by all parties. Fourteen weeks have passed since Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups carried out bloody attacks against Israel on 7…

World News in Brief: Griffiths demands end to ‘ruinous’ Sudan conflict, Ukraine-Russia prisoner exchange, Iran bombings latest

PNP DeskJanuary 4, 2024September 18, 202407 mins

The UN Emergency Relief Coordinator said in a statement that as the conflict continues to spread “human suffering is deepening, humanitarian access is shrinking and hope is dwindling.” He said a grim turning point between government troops and their rival RSF militia has been reached with the recent fighting in Aj Jazirah state, the country’s…

Gaza: UN expert on sexual violence in conflict reiterates grave concern for hostages

PNP DeskDecember 21, 2023September 18, 202407 mins

Pramila Patten, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, called for the immediate, safe, and unconditional release of all those who remain in captivity. Ms. Patten met this week with the mother of one of the young women taken hostage who expressed the pain, despair and helplessness that families are facing as they…